[...] Strollerderby today I learned that 41 American children died this summer because their parents forgot them in the [...]

[...] talked last week about whether or not automakers should install forgotten kid alarms in cars as a result of the high number of overheating deaths already this year.  While many [...]

Ugh, could the author not have found a picture of a child correctly harnessed and buckled at least? Yes, it’s bad to forget your kid in the car but pictures like this send the message that doing the harness straps up any old way is just fine and dandy! The car seat is not a magical protection bubble that works solely because your kid is sitting in it – it needs to be used correctly.

Eh, why not? Couldn’t hurt.

I put my purse in the backseat always. Therefore regardless of if I have my son with me, I have to open the door and reach into the back. It has more to do with not having much room in the front seat but my son is usually completely silent in the car and I will take any help I can get.

“If sleep deprivation is the culprit here, why would a tired mind be more able to remember a phone or a purse than a child?” That is right, I have been able to forget my purse, cellphone, lunch, sometimes even my daughter’s bottle at home (but in that last case I can always call my husband who can run it to the babysitter real quick) but NEVER, NEVER my kids.
I have been driving down the road and suddenly I adjust my mirror to check on my kids, even though I already dropped them at the sitter’s. My point is, as long as your kids are your priority you will not forget them. On the other hand, I do not understand why will people leave their kids in the car to run errands? I does not matter how overwhelmed you are from work, they are your kids and you should learn to suck it up and deal with the situation. Maybe those parents should take a little extra time to planning and make sure they have snacks and water in the car when they know they will have to go in whith their kids.

People still think it’s a good idea to leave their kids in the car ON PURPOSE? Haven’t we heard enough tragic stories about children dying in hot cars?! Jeez, people. Wake up!

I have to drive past my office parking lot when I drive to the daycare center from my house, but I never drive to the daycare from my house because my workday starts before my wife’s does and so she’s the one who drops the kid off in the morning. One day last year, however, my wife needed me to bring the kid to daycare early. So, in my back seat he went. By the time I was approaching my parking lot, as usual, I was thinking ahead to my workday and the kid had fallen asleep. And according to my usual pattern, I pulled into the parking lot and parked the car. That’s when I noticed the daycare bag on the front seat and remembered that I was supposed to be headed to the daycare.
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Did that happen because my priorities are wrong? No, it has to with habituation. Habits are often good because they allow us to operate at a higher level, to use the thinking parts of our minds while another part dispatches a routine activity (walking and chewing gum, e.g.). But habits can cause mistakes, too, when we slightly vary an otherwise routine activity — because it’s easy to fall into the regular pattern and forget the variance when the time arrives.

Maybe there should be an App for that.

Bob: Thank you for linking the article, it really was a fantastic read. I didn’t realize I was holding my breath reading through your personal experience until I felt it all rush out with relief that it ended well. I feel this enormous amount of empathy for parents that have to go through this, and I think it’s because I can easily imagine it happening to me. And e: Haunted is absolutely the best description of that article. I remember reading it late at night and just having a slow-burning panicked feeling. The day my son’s carseat turned to face forward was the day that I could drop him off at daycare without feeling skittish and half-crazed.

No, cars don’t need them. Parents need to pay attention. All of life is a change in routine. I had changes in routine when my child was a baby. It galls me to read that being used as an excuse because that’s all it is. If you can’t handle one change in routine without leaving your baby to roast, you’re not capable of parenting. I was so tired sometimes that I cried. Did I ever forget my child? No. I stayed off the cell phone when I was driving and I made it a habit to *always* check the back seat as a precaution; it’s just something I did. Responsibility–it works. No, auto makers shouldn’t be required to include this technology. Like everything else in a car, this technology will eventually malfunction. Do you realize the massive liability automakers would be opening themselves up for? People don’t sue over dead batteries. I love children. If I were the CEO of an auto company, would I include the technology? Absolutely not. It is the PARENTS’ responsibility to remember their child is there, not the automakers’. Parents will stop being vigilant and depend on the tech to remind them to drop off their children. If your routine changes–DEAL WITH IT.

I am a stay at home mother of 2 beautiful babies. My son just turned 2 and my daughter is 5 months old. My children are my whole world and I spend 99% of my time with my kids. I usually go to the grocery store by myself at least once a week while my kids stay at home with their dad. Yesterday, my son had to come with me and he fell asleep on the way. The whole way there I was thinking about what I needed to pick up at the store, and when I got out of my car to go into the grocery store, I forgot to take my son in with me. I went in and did my shopping and even bought my son a toy, thinking he was at home with his dad and sister. I got back to my car to put the gorceries in the back seat and there he was still sleeping soundly. I gasped and said ‘OH MY GOD!!!” I thank god that it was not hot outside. I never even locked my car becasue I live in a msall town. Someone could have stoeln my child…anything could have happened to him..Luckily someone saw him and called the police. The police arrived after I finished putting the groceries into the car and I was crying my eyes out trying to explaint o him how I could have possibly forgotten him. I had no explination. I had no excuse. All I could tell him was that I would never purposely leave my child in my car. Becasue I am used to shopping by myself, and he had fallen asleep, I just plain forgot. Everyone that knows me and my children, know that I am a wonderful mother who would enever do anything to hurt my kids. This happens to people like me. If someone else had dont this I would have said “how do you forget your child?” But now I know the answer to that and its very scarey. Now I am being investogated by Child Protective services for 60 days. Which is fine becasue I have nothing to hide and I am confident that i am a perfectly capable mother. But, I have been crying for 2 days and I did not sleep at all last night thinking about how things could have ended up so much worse. I thank god I still have my son and I will be checking and doucle checking my backseat anytime I go ANYWHERE from now on. Putting my purse in the back seat sounds like a great idea. It is hard for me to admit that I made such a careless mistake and I know many others would have a hard time posting their story for tohers to hear, but it h=can happen to anyone. We are all human, we are creatures of habit. An alarm would not be a bad idea at all.